This subject is never a pleasant one. No one likes to acknowledge domestic abuse is a way of life…especially if it is happening within their own life. Unfortunately, domestic abuse happens every day in a multitude of ways. It doesn’t just happen in the lives of the poor, the rich, or the celebrity world; even though, that is often the stories that we hear about…those who are famous. We must awaken to the facts of domestic abuse; it is often learned behaviors that are used to control another person…either with intimidation, physical violence, emotional abuse or sexual abuse.

Domestic abuse is like cancer…it is constantly trying to destroy the people involved. It is a pattern of behavior that affect both the abuser and the person being abused. Many who are being abused do not recognize that what is happening in their lives is actually domestic abuse. The reasons for their lack of understanding, or denial are many. (more…)

Well, just so you know…there is breaking news, Google’s gmail isnt working at the moment for some of it’s users…dont panic…it isnt you if you are not a technical person. I always panic when something technical isnt working…because i think it is my lack of tech skills; however, this time, gmail developed a problem with their gmail about 1:30 Pacific time today. Google says they arent sure what the problem is but they are aware it and they are working on it. Many people use their gmail account for business purposes so the impact of the failure is being felt. I became aware of the gmail breakdown from my twitter account!

Ok, I dont understand this whole financial mess…I admit that. I am no financial genius. However, I do know that if you keep spending money that you dont have…you go deeper in debt. How in the heck is the government going to get money from people who dont have it to give? From taxpayers….correction…from taxpayers who have JOBS. What about all of those people who dont have JOBS or will soon be loosing their JOBS? The American family is in crisis. Many dont have jobs or they have to have more than one part time job to make ends meet. Some don’t even have homes because they have lost them to foreclosures. Some of their family members dont have jobs or can’t make enough to pay their bills. But when you are barely making it…you can’t help anyone else out in a meaningful way either. The Government financial recovery plan (mess) is mirroring our personal lives…they just dont know it yet! Still, some of the leaders are using fear to try to get people to put their stamp of approval on their plan of action; they are saying that this might not be the right answer…but we have to do something or else!

Obama’s treasury chief has announced that this country needs 2 trillion dollars to save the banks. This is on top of the bailouts that have so far shown little return on the investment for the average American citizen. Where is this whole thing going to end? Why not give the money to the citizens and let them dig themselves out of their own very deep holes first? That in turn might just have the added benefit of allowing them to pay off their loans and homes to those banks and businesses that made the bad loans in the first dang place!

We are being told that all of this lending and loaning may or may not work….that they might make mistakes. But that doing nothing would be a catastrophe. How do we know that? Maybe those businesses and banks should go under. After all….once this money is loaned to these businesses and banks…they are going to expect tax payers to go into debt once again with these banks and businesses to circulate the money. Who in their right mind is going to create an even bigger debt load on themselves with such uncertainty hanging over this country’s head?

After President Obama’s treasurer spoke the Dow Jones dropped 3.5%. This is traumatic news to everyone. Confidence is more than shaken….it has suffered severe trauma. We may never recover from this extreme mess as a nation. This isn’t some meaningless recession. We are bleeding money and we dont have the confidence in our leaders, our banks, our businesses to recover from it.

Former Presidential candidate, Senator John McCain calls this plan “generational theft”. He says we are stealing from future generations their hard earned dollars and laying on them debt of incredible proportions. He is right. Where will it end?

The Government thinks it is going to help everyone out by creating JOBS and bailing out banks and certain industry giants. Helloooooooooooo…is anybody home out there? How in the world are they going to do this? By hitting the taxpayers out even more than they have already. So far, no one has had a solution that has made a positive enough impact to change the direction of this massive financial failure! What makes them think that throwing more money into the mix is going to make things better? Can a government file bankruptsy…cause that is what it feels like is happening here…what is the old saying….borrowing from Peter to pay Paul?

It is a historical moment in time, this presidential inauguration of 2009; just like every other presidential inauguration since the beginning of the United States. Yet, this one feels different. It feels as though this particular inauguration is getting more attention than any other one, in my memory.

I did not personally vote for Barack Obama…still, i can appreciate this moment…as it will be a moment of history as well as a moment for our future in America. There is hope, excitement, fear and anxiety, as this nation faces huge difficulties. That hope and excitement creates an air of expectancy; yet, we must temper that.

To hear the media tell it…Obama is the answer to all the issues facing the nation. That can not be, he is just one man after all…even though he is a powerful man. It isn’t fair to put that kind of pressue on him. He cannot fix all of the issues facing this country in a way that is going to satisfy everyone. There will be frustration, there will be disappointment…and, there will be a reality check for those who believe that things can only go up from here.

The reason for that is…President Barack Obama is human; he is not God. I believe that he realizes that…but, there is such a building up of who people think he is; that i think it builds a false sense of what he will be able to do. He will represent the people…not just the black population, not just the white population or the male population. I do think he will do his best. I do think that he will accomplish much…but, it will be in partnership with the Senate, the Congress, and even the citizens of the United States. This country will change…for better or worse who knows? History many years from now will be the judge; when we look back to this period of our history we will have the advantage of knowing what came before and after.

The Presidency is also a conditional thing; people forget that you must balance your expectations with reality, because reality is based on the conditions during that president’s time of the leadership. The reality is that there are foreign governments, there are terrorists, there are internal struggles that create situations that each and every President must face during their term in office.

What we as a nation want to know is that our leader is a strong person, a person of good moral fiber, a person of commitment and a person who we can trust; we want a president who is wise, who knows good counsel when he hears it, a person of integrity who knows how to balance compassion and strong leadership.

I say for now…let’s enjoy the excitement of the moment. Let’s celebrate with the Obama family at this accomplishment. Things will get real soon enough with all of the demands of the office on the President, his family and friends. This is a huge accomplishment and honor; but, let’s not forget it is also a sacrifice.

The sacrifice comes by way of a sacrifice of schedule to have family time whenever they want it; it comes with pressure like no other job, it comes with a lack of privacy, it comes with media scrutiny that is justified; and, with scrutiny that is not.

So for now, can we not just honor the new President of the United States…acknowledge his tipping of the hat towards President Lincoln and his respect for the man and the office…while quietly considering the possibilities before us? Let’s celebrate our patriotism with our fellow citizens and not let ourselves be divided at this time…let’s look forward to the future and it’s impact on us and those around the world.

As a Christian I am struggling with the line between fear and faith. My parents are both cancer survivors. However, right before Christmas they both had tests done that have come back with suspicious results.

I listen to my mother say that she is not going to get worked up until she talks with the doctor about the results. In general, I agree with that. My mother is pretty much a positive thinker, which is a great thing.

My father is cut out of a different cloth. He automatically thinks negatively; he can’t seem to help it. His mind goes to the worst case scenerio. It is experience related…he has had the worst case scenerio happen to him before…so he just expects that to be his luck. Both mom and dad will be meeting up with their respective cancer doctors before the first week of January is over.

I am a product of both of my parents. I am at times a positive thinker….and at times, automatically hit the negativity zone. I don’t like it that that is true; but, it is honest. I work hard attempting to focus on the positives.

The problem is…fear. I fear hearing the situations that they are facing will possibly return them to the medical world of tests, surgeries, treatments, complications, and hospitalizations. This is a world that is both isolating and overwhelming, with people. 🙂 I realize that that sounds contrary….but, it isn’t.

You are surrounded with people in the medical field….this specialist, that oncologist, the anestesiologist (sp?), the radiologist, the pharmacist, the dietician, the family doctor, the nurses, the insurance company…the list goes on and on. The isolation comes when you must seperate yourself from the general population because of the possibility of infection. The isolation that the patient feels when heading in for the surgery or the treatment…no-one else can do those things for them. It is in isolation that fear takes root and does it’s dirty work. Discouragement can set in…thwarting all of the good and positive things that are at work in the healing process.

The thing is, once you have been a survivor…your history can limit treatments. It can also be eye opening to the types of situations you may be facing this time around. My mother has developed conditions that can be life threatening, since the last time around.Both my mother and father had difficult side effects and complications from their various treatments, in the past.

I am a firm believer that God is in control of everything. I don’t claim to understand the mind of God. But, i know that he allows things to happen that are very difficult to go through. If left to our own devices…most human beings would opt out of the difficult things and shoot straight for the easy path…myself included. My head knows that much can be learned during these hard moments in life…that God has things for us to gain in those moments. I know he has things to be accomplished during those moments…he puts people in our path for us to connect with and to share with. We will do our best to bring glory to his name throughout. For he is worthy of praise in all things.

So, I will work at praying that God will have mercy…that he will guide and direct us as we face these additional challenges. I will ask for wisdom, clarity, patience, faith, courage, strength, healing, financial blessings, and any area of lacking; that we may need to overcome in the face of these trials.

What i am thankful for, is that we don’t have to pray for love or sharing; or, willing family members to help out. We are blessed in those areas. We are a family that knows how to support one another; and, whoever is in need around us, at the time. Roomates have often been the recipients of the overflow of our big family. There have been roomates that had no one to look out for them…they were alone in their journey. My family is nurturing in nature. I am thankful for that compassionate part of our family.

I am thankful for those in the medical community who also have compassion, skill, knowledge and who are sensitive in the way that they go about promoting healing to their patients and their family members. They are our allies in the war that has been declared on our loved ones..they are on the front lines of battle trying to help our loved ones to have a full and healthy life; so we pray for all of them who will have contact with us. We respect their skill and dedication.

We have so much to be thankful for…and, we are. Are we greedy to wish for health and financial blessings to meet the demands put on the family as we go thru these things? I don’t think so. I know that God has a purpose; I pray that we realize it and make the most of it as he would desire us to do. I am just selfish enough to wish, as Jesus did on the cross, that this cup would pass from out of our hands; if God so desires.

Again…the line blurrs between faith and fear that these medical challenges may not pass from us!

It is a new day, the beginning of a new week; and soon, it will be the beginning of a New Year. It is easy to get caught up in the ugliness in the world. The financial crisis, the rising cost of food, gas, oil, health benefits…you name it. Crime is rampant. Each news day is filled with violence, with fear, with selfishness. I try to wrap my mind around the possibilities in each new day.

Today is a fresh start…a do over…a new beginning. It is not that the things that went before don’t exist; it is that they do exist, and because they do…things must start anew. Otherwise, it would be nothing but a downward spiral into a cesspool. There has to be hope. There has to be a promise that things will get better. There has to be a chance to change the course of evil. Each new day brings an opportunity to break away from the things that try to drag us down.

So here is to a renewal in the spirit of mankind, a breath of kindness, a balm of healing attitudes, the pursuit of goodness over evil, the heart of a giver over those who express greediness in our cultures, the potential of each step forward…let these areas of opportunities be contagious; and, an encouragement of others to infect every person that comes into contact with the idea of improving the world we live!

There is a terrible abuse of power, allegedly, in the investigation of a double murder case in Arizona. A young 8 year old child was being interviewed by the police in the murder case of his father and a houseguest/friend of the father who were shot and killed. The interview was recorded; thank God, because it shows the leading questions being asked by the officers; as well as the answers given by the child.

This is outrageous; children are very easily led by those in authority. This child was a potential witness and was being interviewed as such. The officers allegedly said to the child, what if we had someone who ‘saw’ something? Then, when a series of questions was put to the child and he was led to say that he ‘might’ have shot the gun that day, then he might have shot his father, then he might have shot the friend…before long he was shooting the gun that day and he didn’t know…if maybe he shot his father. You see what i am saying…this line of questioning was done without an adult advocate for the child being present.

There was no attorney in the room who represented the child…there was no parent present (father was killed…but the child had a mother who lived out of state) there was no friend or clergy present…no teacher…no person who could stop the interview when it allegedly (and in my opinion was) turned into coersion to get the child to confess to murder. This is an 8 year old child. Clearly, he was anxious, fearful and wanting to give them answers…he was wanting to be pleasing to the authority figures in the room so that the questions would stop. Whether he is guilty of murder or not…this is not how questioning should have been conducted.

Even if it is true that this child committed murder (it would indeed be a terrible thing)…the case will probably be thrown out because the ‘evidence on tape’ was done without the child being read his rights/and in lieu of not being able to comprehend his miranda rights (or to have anyone unbiased explain it to him)…there was no adult advocate present to prevent him from implicating himself in the taped ‘confession’. What if this child confessed to a crime that he did not commit?

This is a huge problem in our court system. People who conduct police interviews with children, or with people who are disabled/special needs….should be required to have special training. It is very easy to lead a person to ‘confess’ to a crime when they are being questioned by a person who is viewed as an authority figure when they are at a disadvantage intellectually (disabled) or if they are not of an age of understanding…a young minor child.